Eye-on-Retail Daily Tipsheet Archives

“Amazon’s Grocery Delivery Business Coming to New York City” by Jason Del Ray at Recode. “Amazon is preparing to start its Fresh grocery delivery business in New York City as early as next month, according to two people who have been briefed on the plans…In New York City, Amazon will be competing against FreshDirect, a 15-year-old business that is said to do around $400 million to $500 million in annual sales, according to multiple grocery industry executives.”Read more

“New Walmart in east Tampa to help turn food desert into oasis” by Susan Thurston at Tampa Bay Times. “This has been a food desert for a long time,” (Mayor) Buckhorn said. “The folks in east Tampa have had to rely on convenience stores and get charged exorbitant prices for food that’s not particularly healthy. … Now there will be healthy alternatives available.”Read more

“Why Stores Still Rule Retail” by Laura Heller at Forbes. “E-commerce sales are just were just 6.4 percent of total retail sales for the second quarter of this year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, up from just 5.8 percent the same period 2013.”Read more

ND Walmart: $17.40/hour for starters at Yahoo. “The Walmart in Williston, ND is one of the highest paying stores in the company.”See the video

“Canada warehouse retailer XS Cargo to close its 50 stores” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post. “In its filing, the retailer’s trustee PWC made a pointed reference to Target’s entry into Canada, which appears to have pushed XS Cargo to a breaking point as it lowered prices to compete head-on with Walmart Canada.”Read more

“Does Walmart’s “Savings Catcher” Actually Work?” by Chris Morran at Consumerist. “When it was all said and done, the service found $4.83 in savings, but left $1.02 unaccounted for. And this was just for a relatively small transaction of $36…Based on just this one test, it seems like Savings Catcher might be something worth trying.”Read more

“How Ads Can Push Too Hard” by Matt Richtell at NY Times. “The worst performer was the ad that called the soap the “only choice” for green consumers. That result ran counter to the expectations of a panel of 59 marketing executives and managers who had been asked beforehand to predict which slogan would work best. Nearly half projected that the “only choice” slogan would be most effective. The study subjects reported that the off-putting slogan — with language that was not quite bullying but certainly imperative — threatened their sense of “freedom in expressing their identity,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.”Read more

“Wal-Mart tests Pickup-Grocery prototype store” by Cyd King at NWA (Subscription). “If Wal-Mart Stores Inc. President and CEO Doug McMillon wants to treat his wife, Shelley, to a home-cooked steak dinner and bottle of wine, he can place an order online for his groceries, drive to a new Wal-Mart store prototype and pick them up without ever having to get out of his car.” Read more

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